German side Bayer Leverkusen are on the cusp of making history this season as they took a huge step towards winning the Bundesliga title on Sunday with a 2-0 win at 10-man Cologne in the Rhine derby.
It was a mixed day of action for the Super Eagles duo of Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface as the latter remained out due to injury and Tella came on as a substitute in the second half for Ghanaian goalscorer Jeremie Frimpong.
After gaining a one-man advantage as early as the 14th minute in the fiercely contested derby, Leverkusen somewhat struggled but enjoyed goals from Jeremie Frimpong and Álex Grimaldo in the 37th and 73rd minute respectively.
Xabi Alonso's troops already knew that a win would push them 10 points clear after second placed Bayern Munich dropped points on Friday in a game that finished 2-2 and his side have now gone 34 games without defeat in all competitions this season, registering 64 points.
Leverkusen have enjoyed tremendous growth since the Spaniard took charge in October 2022 when the team was fighting relegation.
Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella's impact for Leverkusen
No doubt, this season's successes recorded by Leverkusen can be attributed to Alonso's brilliance from the sidelines but almost all the players have played a major role including the Super Eagles pair of Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella. The brilliant run has seen Leverkusen stay unbeaten in all competitions so far this season since their last loss came in a defeat to Bochum on the final day of last season.
Nathan Tella who was in action today has featured for the team 14 times, scoring four goals and providing one assist in all competitions this campaign since he joined from Southampton on a reported fee of £20 million.
Tella produced a stern display after he was brought on to help his side secure all three points and will definitely be looking forward to getting more playing time.
However he didn't hide his disappointment of missing out of the AFCON tournament but decided to see the good in not going as it afforded him more playing time in Germany especially with the team grappling with injuries.
“In my head, I wanted to play in the Africa Cup of Nations and I wasn’t called up. I was quite disappointed but then, at the same time, I looked at it as an opportunity to play here,” he said.
“We had four players – obviously Victor Boniface got injured – but if there are four players out, I would have more opportunities and I believe I did.
“I was able to play more and was able to score. Obviously, I was disappointed Nigeria didn’t win it but for my teammate Odilon [Kossounou], I am really happy for him as well.”
On the other hand, Victor Boniface had made more appearances than his fellow Super Eagles teammate, featured 16 times and scored 10 goals in the Bundesliga while he has registered four goals and one assist in the UEFA Europa League.
But for the injury he picked up during the national team assignment as they were preparing to play in Ivory Coast for the AFCON, Boniface had been a regular feature for Xabi Alonso's men.
His bright start to the season was halted when he picked up a groin injury. The 23-year-old who was described as a ‘complete striker' by his manager is scheduled to return within the next two months.
If Xabi Alonso's side remain unbeaten all through the season, the Nigerian pair would have gone on to win a treble as they would have managed to win the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the Europa League – that's a strong ask from a young team with a young manager as well.
